New Report from United Campus Workers-CWA Reveals Low Pay, Lack of Health Insurance

The United Campus Workers-CWA released a report on working conditions for adjunct faculty at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) revealing a crisis for these employees.

More than 550 adjunct faculty teach at ETSU, accounting for between 40-50% of total instructional faculty and teaching 30% of all undergraduate credit hours. This report sheds light on the precarious experience of the workers that teach our students: low-pay, no access to healthcare, lack of retirement, hours of unpaid work, a lack of voice or respect at work, and few professional benefits, despite rising tuition costs and student debt.

Poor working conditions for adjuncts are being compounded by the COVID-19 crisis, which is expected to hit public higher education budgets hard.

"I don't have insurance," said Zach James, an adjunct in Literature and Languages, "I've been gambling (on my health) for 7 years now."

The rapid shift to online classes has further burdened adjunct faculty who often teach large introductory courses, with no extra compensation or job security.

"Last semester, a week before class, after I had already prepped a class, they cancelled it at the last minute. I did all that work for no pay," said Kittye Hirsch, an adjunct in Sociology.

United Campus Workers is calling on Tennessee's universities to give students what they deserve and treat adjunct faculty like the mission-critical employees that they are.

Read the full report here.